Speak Business English Like an American Lesson 13 Idioms and Expressions Test
LESSON 13 – Discussing a Mistake
DISCUSSING A MISTAKE
Chris and Todd work for Alpine Design, a furniture manufacturer. When Todd accidentally orders the wrong amount of wood, his boss, Chris, warns him to be more careful in the future.
Chris: Todd, we got our shipment of wood yesterday. We’re short by 18 tons.
Todd: Our wood supplier must’ve made a mistake. I could’ve sworn that I ordered the right amount.
Chris: You’d better go back and double-check your order.
Todd: Oops, you’re right. I accidentally ordered two tons instead of twenty. No big deal. I’ll just put in another order.
Chris: When filling out order forms, you need to dot your i’s and cross your t’s. You shouldn’t be making careless mistakes like this.
Todd: I just forgot to add a zero after the two. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill. No need to blow things out of proportion.
Chris: This is very serious. Now we won’t have enough wood to finish the furniture order we got from La-Z Boy.
Todd: Okay, sorry I dropped the ball.
Chris: Todd, this may be a bitter pill to swallow, but your work lately hasn’t been up to scratch. You’ve really been asleep at the wheel!
IDIOMS
- I could’ve sworn that…
→ I really thought that; I was convinced that
EXAMPLE: You didn’t know we already hired somebody for the sales director position? I could’ve sworn that I told you.
NOTE: “Sworn” is the past perfect tense of “swear.”
- no big deal
→ it’s not a problem
EXAMPLE: Our coffee machine broke? No big deal. Our employees will just have to go to Starbucks until we get a new one.
- (to) dot your i’s and cross your t’s
→ to be very careful; to pay attention to details
EXAMPLE: When preparing financial statements, accuracy is very important. Be sure to dot your i’s and cross your t’s.
- (to) make a mountain out of a molehill
→ to make a big deal out of something small or insignificant
EXAMPLE: Don’t be angry at your boss for not complimenting you on your presentation. He probably just forgot. Don’t make a mountain out of a molehill.
- (to) blow things out of proportion
→ to exaggerate; to make more of something than one should
EXAMPLE: Our CEO says that if we don’t meet our sales target for the month, our company is going to go out of business. He’s probably blowing things out of proportion.
- (to) drop the ball
→ to make a mistake; to fail; to do something poorly
EXAMPLE: You forgot to submit the budget? You really dropped the ball!
ORIGIN: When a football player drops the ball, his team may lose the chance to score.
- bitter pill to swallow
→ bad news; something unpleasant to accept
EXAMPLE: After Gina spent her whole summer working as an intern for American Express, failing to get a full-time job offer from the company was a bitter pill to swallow.
- up to scratch
→ good; at the expected level
EXAMPLE: Your customer service call center isn’t up to scratch. They put me on hold for 45 minutes!
NOTE: You will usually hear this expression in the negative: not up to scratch.
- asleep at the wheel
→ not performing well; neglecting responsibilities; not paying attention to what’s going on
EXAMPLE: The dental hygienist was asleep at the wheel. She accidentally left a big piece of dental floss in the patient’s mouth!
SYNONYMS: asleep at the switch; out to lunch
